With the start of fall comes the start of flu season and a local pharmacist said now is the time to start thinking about vaccines.
Joanthan Allmon said people usually take two weeks to build immunity after getting the shot. Allmon said people should plan ahead and get the shot at their earliest convenience. Allmon said despite some people’s beleif, the flu shot can not give people the virus.
“That is a common misconception,” Allmon said. “The flu vaccine cannot cause any illness at all. It is an inactivated virus that we use, and the only time you might feel a little bit bad after the vaccine, that’s actually your immune system doing exactly what it’s supposed to be. But those symptoms will always be very mild if anything at all.”
Allmon said he encouraged early vaccination so people have the time to build immunity before the family gatherings that come during flu season. Allmon said the flu shot is recommended for anyone aged six months and older.
He said there are flu shots specifically for senior citizens.
“There is a high dose for those 65 and older that you can take,” Allmon said. “The reason we do that is because as we age, our immune systems may become less responsive, so there’s a little higher dose in those, for the name, to hopefully get a better response for our older folks who’s immune system may be a little less responsive to the standard dose.”
Allmon said it is difficult to tell how bad the flu will be in a given year until after the season ends. He said the symptoms are typically, fever, cough, body aches, fatigue, and chills.
“Most of us get the flu, we kind of know what we’re getting into, hopefully won’t be too too bad,” Allmon said. “But if you’ve got pre-existing conditions, having the flu on top of those can make things worse. We really want to focus on our folks who have heart disease, diabetes, asthma, anybody with some kind of respiratory condition that the flu could make that much worse for them.”
Allmon said people should make sure to take care of themselves in an effort to defend against the flu. He said hydration, excercise, and a healthy diet are a few ways people can improve their overall health.